Communications platform as a service has been gaining popularity for both collaboration and customer service needs, but its business value is not well understood. As with cloud-based unified communications and contact centers , CPaaS can be deployed as a standalone development platform, but most businesses do not have the necessary expertise to justify that. The benefit of providing more flexibility and control over managing communications applications is what will likely drive CPaaS forward. In legacy environments, these capabilities are limited and often constrained by proprietary technologies that can only be modified by vendors or external parties . CPaaS opens up new possibilities, enabling IT leaders to think differently about communications technology. This recognition is the starting point for deploying CPaaS. With that, here are two principles for building a business case , even if it’s just for a small-scale deployment. 1. Open APIs CPaaS platforms are developer-centric by nature, where open APIs are the building blocks for programmable communications. The pool of developers is rapidly growing. With no limit to creating new applications to enhance communications, CPaaS development is not the sole domain of vendors and integrators. With today’s open APIs, businesses have many options for tapping the expertise […]

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getty Every year, Americans bet billions in wagers during March Madness. Do you ever wonder how companies get their logos on hats or other gear? Two years ago, my team and I found out how to capture the enthusiasm of college basketball and college football fans, including some of the top SEC and Big 10 schools. Licensing isn’t hard, and it’s not even all that expensive—but it is a learning curve, and I would characterize it as a tedious process. If you plan to learn whether licensing is a good fit for your company, here are some important points to keep in mind. Choosing Schools You may have a short list of schools you want to support, but one does not just decide which NCAA schools to license. Your brand will need to qualify for multiple considerations, and I will get into that in a minute, but there are also the considerations you have about what schools you want to sell. The good news is, in most cases, you do not need to approach each school individually. Almost all NCAA schools have a licensing agency, but they don’t all have the same one. The process at each agency is […]

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instacart business Instacart announces new business-focused offering highlighting retailers Costco Business Center, Staples, Restaurant Depot, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Gordon Food Service with a suite of products dedicated to helping local businesses save time, save money, and stay focused SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced the launch of Instacart Business, a new business-focused offering that brings the best of Instacart to businesses with features designed to help them save on costs, time, and resources. With many business owners facing challenges like supply chain issues, staffing shortages, record inflation, untenable inventory costs, rising real estate prices and other overhead increases, local and small businesses like plumbers and electricians, boutiques, salons, cafés, daycares, and legal offices are disproportionately affected. These businesses often manage multiple vendors to get the best prices on organizational staples from paper and pens to bananas and coffee, and, relative to larger businesses, have smaller order volumes – often translating to higher prices and prohibitive minimums. And with lean operations, teams often wear multiple hats, are time-strapped and busy with the demands of their job. “At Instacart, we believe that the cost of doing business shouldn’t […]

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Share Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Tuesday that the bank had suffered ‘clear stumbles’ in its consumer business. Photo: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS By Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive David Solomon said Tuesday that the bank is “considering strategic alternatives” for its consumer platforms business, which includes the specialty lender GreenSky and credit-card partnerships with Apple Inc. and General Motors Co. Mr. Solomon made the comments while speaking at the bank’s investor day. Continue reading your article with a WSJ subscription

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Photo: ©STEVE CUKROV – STOCK.ADOBE.COM CHICAGO — McDonald’s is continuing its Krispy Kreme donuts market test with more Kentucky restaurants. The fast-food giant already sold a limited amount of Krispy Kreme donuts at nine locations in Louisville starting Oct. 26, 2022, but expands this test to nearly 160 locations around Louisville, Lexington and other nearby areas starting March 21. “The expanded test will help us learn more about operational impact on a larger scale as well as explore customer demand,” said McDonald’s. “And this time around, there are even more ways for fans to satisfy their Krispy Kreme craving, with donuts available all day in-restaurant, at the drive-thru, via McDelivery and on the McDonald’s App.” McDonald’s will be offering three Krispy Kreme donuts as part of the test: Original Glazed donuts, chocolate iced with sprinkles donuts and chocolate iced Kreme filled donuts.

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Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg New York-listed IHS Holding Ltd. is weighing a bid for South Africa’s Telkom SA SOC ’s tower unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Deliberations are focused on the structure of the potential deal, although Telkom remains open to offers from other companies and there is no guarantee IHS will buy the unit, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The Swiftnet business is worth about 8.7 billion rand ($472 million) based on future expected cash flows, according to a recent note from Nedbank Group Ltd. IHS and Telkom declined to comment on the matter. Telkom shares rose as much as 6.6% on the news, closing 4.2% higher on Tuesday in Johannesburg. Tower companies — including IHS Towers, American Tower Corp. and Helios Towers — have been expanding in Africa to tap rising demand for broadband as smart-phones become more widespread. Meanwhile, mobile companies have increasingly sought to spin off their towers to focus on their core business, with Vodafone Group Plc ’s African unit Vodacom separating its towers portfolio into a new unit in 2021. IHS Towers is the biggest Africa-focused tower company and has been […]

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BROOKLINE — Town Administrator Chas Carey and Caitlin Starr, Assistant Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Relations, are pleased to share that the Town of Brookline has released the 2023 Diverse and Inclusive Business Directory. The complete directory can be found here. The directory highlights and celebrates Brookline’s diverse, accessible, and inclusive independent business community. Through community canvassing and several online campaigns, Brookline businesses and organizations were invited and encouraged to be included in the new directory. Ten new businesses were added to the directory this year. The directory features coffee shops, restaurants, shops, art studios, health studios, non-profits and more. The directory also houses a visual key, allowing users to determine businesses owned by Diverse Business Enterprises as well as those that are fully accessible. “The Town of Brookline has worked closely with our businesses and community members to ensure that inclusivity remains a priority,” Starr said. “We will continue to update the directory yearly and hope to garner a supportive atmosphere for these businesses.” Hard copies of the directory are available at Town Hall, the Public Health Building, Brookline Libraries and the Senior Center. An electronic Word document is also available for improved screen reader accessibility. Any […]

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The surplus lines carrier began writing non-admitted homeowners’ insurance in coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina in December 2022. It also has state approval pending in North Carolina. Ken Gregg (pictured), CEO of Orion180 , told Insurance Business that the move is about having more control over the firm’s book of business. “It’s been in the plans from the inception of the company. We want to be able to control our customer experience and what we’re able to bring to the market,” Gregg said. “When you’re an MGA, you’re primarily a distributor of product. For us, the natural progression is to become your own carrier and control your product, control your pricing, and control the experience.” The timing was ripe for Orion180 to make the strategic shift, according to Gregg. The company has produced around $150 million in written premiums in under five years, and its scale of production had a reached a point where becoming a carrier was the natural next step. “We’ve been putting it together for the last year and a half,” the CEO said. “We got to the point of critical mass to make the transition.” ‘Expect more’ from Orion180 Headquartered in Florida, […]

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Second Round of Funding Will Open March 1, 2023. Applications Will Be Accepted Through March 21, 2023. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne announces that Somerville’s Small Business Recovery Fund will reopen on March 1, 2023, with more inclusive eligibility criteria to better serve Somerville business owners. This round of funding will distribute approximately $500,000 to help local businesses as they recover from the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund provides forgivable loans for eligible applicants worth up to $15,000 for brick-and-mortar businesses and $5,000 for home-based businesses. To qualify, businesses must be located within the City of Somerville, have 20 or fewer full-time employees, and be able to demonstrate a decline in revenue over the past several years, among other criteria. Applications will be accepted from March 1 through March 21, 2023. “Every day, whether I’m getting a morning coffee, buying my family’s groceries, or picking up my dog’s favorite treats, I am constantly inspired by the passion and ingenuity of Somerville’s small business community, but the pandemic has created difficult challenges,” said Mayor Ballantyne. “By reopening the Small Business Recovery Fund we aim to strategically target assistance to local business owners that will help them on the road […]

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NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s (GS.N) Chief Executive David Solomon said the company is considering "strategic alternatives" for its consumer business after stumbles led to billions of dollars in losses. Solomon did not specify what those options would be. Goldman has already halted unsecured lending, a portfolio that could be sold. Its Marcus consumer business was folded into the company’s merged asset and wealth management arm last year, and its newly-formed Platform Solutions unit houses transaction banking, credit cards and a fintech platform, GreenSky. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Solomon’s comments, which were reiterated by company president John Waldron and Stephanie Cohen, global head of Platform Solutions, signal a further retreat from its Main Street ambitions. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story The bank will aim to grow fees from asset and wealth management and try to make profits from a newly-created fintech unit as it laid out its priorities at the start of its second investor day. The bank restated a longer-term target for return on tangible equity of 15% to 17% "through the cycle" and said it had "significant" room to grow market share for wealth management in […]

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